title: Rapid breast density analysis of partial volumes of automated breast ultrasound images.
abstract: Rapid volume density analysis (RVDA) for automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) has been proposed as a more efficient method for estimating breast density. In the current experiment, ABUS images were obtained for 67 breasts from 40 patients. For each case, three rectangular volumes of interest (VOIs) were extracted, including the VOIs located at the 6 and 12 o'clock positions relative to the nipple in the anterior to posterior pass and the lateral position relative to the nipple in the lateral pass. The centers of these VOIs were defined to align with the center of nipple, and the depths reached the retromammary fat boundary. The fuzzy c-means classifier was applied to differentiate the fibroglandular and fat tissues to estimate the density. The classification results of the three VOIs were averaged to obtain the breast density. The density correlations between the RVDA and the ABUS methods were 0.98 and 0.96 using Pearson's correlation and linear regression coefficients, respectively. The average computation times for RVDA and ABUS were 4.2 and 17.8 seconds, respectively, using an Intel Core2 2.66 GHz computer with 3.25 GB memory. In conclusion, the RVDA method offers a quantitative and efficient breast density estimation for ABUS.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Woo Kyung
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Chung-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Jung Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Min Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Won Hwa
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chiun-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jeon-Hor
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ming-Hong
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Ruey-Feng
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000465:Algorithms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary / Q000379:methods*
keywords: ABUS; breast density; fuzzy c-means